tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595590912416369261.post6572887906590421788..comments2017-05-02T02:57:31.291-07:00Comments on Disruptive Thinkers: Drones: Barrage Balloons of the FutureBen Kohlmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169347794851576548noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595590912416369261.post-36097573105250589922014-05-02T08:25:29.718-07:002014-05-02T08:25:29.718-07:00I do see your point in this post. I do feel like d...I do see your point in this post. I do feel like drones over the years have spurred great innovations in terms of military surveillance and warfare. And not just drones but also the emergence of technology that can be used to manufacture military equipment on-demand. I particularly see your point on how microdrones could succeed as a military weapon. Technology that versatile and easily maneuverable could have a variety of uses, whether in surveillance or spec op assignments.<br /><br /><a href="http://idtus.wordpress.com/2014/04/03/automate-your-tests-to-spend-your-time-better/" rel="nofollow">Matt Wynan</a><br />Matt Wynanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11040754841555882674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595590912416369261.post-80921500298296951402013-06-20T22:50:42.221-07:002013-06-20T22:50:42.221-07:00Its always a pleasure reading your post as you alw...Its always a pleasure reading your post as you always come up with something new and different! <a href="http://www.acejanitorialsd.com/" rel="nofollow">San diego janitorial services</a>peter kennethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06714547604924058837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595590912416369261.post-44155189021881850352012-07-25T06:31:57.791-07:002012-07-25T06:31:57.791-07:00Well worth reading Daniel Suarez&#39;s new book Ki...Well worth reading Daniel Suarez&#39;s new book Kill Decision, which has some excellent ideas about where drones might go.Chris Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17678096664118171492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595590912416369261.post-20528011840297927952012-07-24T21:26:44.188-07:002012-07-24T21:26:44.188-07:00Another possibility would be using drones as anten...Another possibility would be using drones as antenna repeaters, allowing UHF line of site communications to go past the current limit. This would be helpful in case of a loss of satcoms, especially in controlling near (but over the horizon) unmanned vehicles.ProtegeAAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18126216818584003506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595590912416369261.post-21160363451579093952012-07-18T10:48:53.210-07:002012-07-18T10:48:53.210-07:00Wow what a blog page i am so satisfied to see here...Wow what a blog page i am so satisfied to see here can you more post, i am returning again again to your website as soon as possible and i have lot of information about Technology News Information<br /><a href="http://www.technewsinfo.com/" rel="nofollow">Technewsinfo</a><br /><a href="http://www.technewsinfo.com/" rel="nofollow">Technews</a><br /><a href="http://www.technewsinfo.com/" rel="nofollow">Tech news</a><br /><a href="http://www.technewsinfo.com/" rel="nofollow">Tech</a>Kind of Technologyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14992275304043263728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595590912416369261.post-67502310758349847652012-07-17T21:37:27.944-07:002012-07-17T21:37:27.944-07:00As far as endurance goes, quadrorotors seem a fair...As far as endurance goes, quadrorotors seem a fair bit away, simply because battery tech would need to take a leap forward. Wouldn&#39;t a swarm of hybrid airships (yes, balloons) with engines and small payloads be more efficient? Though truthfully, I don&#39;t really know how much helium would be needed to keep even an extremely efficient design aloft. <br /><br />Also, there would also be the primary hurdle of convincing anyone to fund hybrid airships, since not one has gotten past the experimental stage. They&#39;d be slow, but I&#39;d guess that they&#39;d be cheap and easy to store if manufactured properly. I guess it wouldn&#39;t work in a tightly grouped suicide defense formation though... since the shrapnel from sufficiently powerful warheads would tear the neighboring drones apart too...<br /><br />Maybe installing a point defense type manpad? Or possibly even radar guided missiles targeted by offboard installations?<br /><br />Imagination&#39;s running wild now...<br />Sadly, my neophiliac tendencies sometimes shut down any critical thinking in favor of the more interesting concept, so if I&#39;ve spouted anything nonsensical, please feel free to call me out on it.Ibizen Thothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17546104901265649965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595590912416369261.post-21164797099540884742012-07-09T21:47:01.845-07:002012-07-09T21:47:01.845-07:00Good comments and criticisms all...the tech is a p...Good comments and criticisms all...the tech is a possible future with inevitable advances. Of course it&#39;s far-fetched...that&#39;s the point. And as we&#39;ve seen by the comments, people are looking for ways to improve upon a very rough, basic model. That&#39;s how innovation works -- even if the ultimate solution is 180 from the original proposal. <br /><br />Are quad-rotors the best? Maybe, maybe not. Could they stay aloft for the time I imply, and rapidly maneuver? Perhaps, perhaps not. Maybe they would be deployed via airplane, or ICBM or whatever. The point is more to push the envelope in how we think about tactics. 99.9% chance this scenario would never play out. In fact, I think war with China highly unlikely, and we&#39;ll be dealing with annoying, but costly, brushfires far more often. But when it comes to tactical employment, thinking in crazy and scifi-ish ways is sometimes useful, even if 80 percent of it is ridiculous and just fun to think about.<br /><br />The real concepts can be boiled down to these points:<br />1. Drones are new tech, therefore can use new tactics...with unknown possibilities<br />2. 3D printing as a solution...with unknown possibilities<br />3. JO innovation with the ability to tinker and supported from on high leading to...unknown possibilities<br />4. Observing how the crowd employs tactics (MW3, other games, DIY drones)...with unknown possibilitiesBen Kohlmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03169347794851576548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595590912416369261.post-64401422537524520602012-07-09T13:22:57.662-07:002012-07-09T13:22:57.662-07:00This is a very unique and refreshing concept, but ...This is a very unique and refreshing concept, but I do think technology is the main limitation in this ideal scenario. The mission requirements for these UAV&#39;s are extensive, and require superb range, acceleration, altitude capability, endurance, and fancy (i.e. heavy) communication suites - all within an exacting size/weight parameter depending on how stealthy the UAV shell needs to be. While quad-rotors are impressive, most that I have seen are limited in range because of battery size/life (30 min or less) and communication range (the more complex, the heavier), and I know of none that are rated for high altitudes (10K+). At least these UAV&#39;s wouldn&#39;t necessarily have to be burdened by a heavy payload, so that is an advantage.<br /><br />I do think that technology is on the cusp of some innovative breakthroughs, however, from battery (re)design to novel control algorithms. I hope that you have all seen the TED talk by Vijay Kumar on the quad rotor sensing and controls that are being worked on at Penn [linked below]. Whether supporting operations at sea or acting alongside troops on the ground, the potential that these quad rotor UAV&#39;s present in a military application is truly amazing. <br /><br />Back to the scenario, what about using small, stealthy, jet powered UAV&#39;s? The UAV&#39;s in question don&#39;t need to be limited to rotor design. Although the maintenance and logistical issues might pose a bigger problem, it&#39;s still an option that could allow for greater (maybe supersonic) speeds, extended ranges, and higher ceilings. What might swarms of miniaturized RQ-170&#39;s (for a crude example) be able to accomplish? Let&#39;s just hope an economy of scale can be secured...<br /><br />Or maybe use quad rotors as an inexpensive alternative to BAMS? <br /><br />Food for thought.<br /><br />http://www.ted.com/talks/vijay_kumar_robots_that_fly_and_cooperate.htmlCameron Thornberryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07331866059421993807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595590912416369261.post-23080255620721594812012-07-09T08:25:54.103-07:002012-07-09T08:25:54.103-07:00Scale issues prevent the drones you describe from ...Scale issues prevent the drones you describe from existing. They would not be able to fly fast enough, far enough, or high enough to provide a realistic threat against military combat aircraft.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16883825518167218104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595590912416369261.post-55201828038225058832012-07-08T20:48:48.048-07:002012-07-08T20:48:48.048-07:00They don&#39;t necessarily need radars if given ge...They don&#39;t necessarily need radars if given general command direction before departing. They don&#39;t have to &quot;intercept&quot; so much as wait, depending on what mode. Quadrotors are also not limited in size, and in this scenario do not require any weaponry, just a self-destruction protocol based on proximity to enemy aircraft. They don&#39;t NEED advanced weaponry specifically because of their numbers.<br /><br />The quadrotors would actually be easy to store, because of their size and simple operation. Using 3D printing, replacement quadrotors, parts, and the like could be easily produced. As for recovery, they could easily bring themselves back to base. Landing in a &quot;charging dock&quot; is not a complicated operation.Derring Dohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15424795086489829897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595590912416369261.post-21084853074434089042012-07-08T13:07:13.082-07:002012-07-08T13:07:13.082-07:00Not sure I get it insofar as a quadrotor is bird-s...Not sure I get it insofar as a quadrotor is bird-sized and could not carry the radar, nor would it have the speed or rate of climb/descent to move toward the many fast moving fighter jets and still have sufficient warhead size to create a near-miss kill.<br /><br />A Predator weighs about 2400 lbs to carry just two Hellfires that each weigh 100+ lbs, fly fast, but would have great difficulty shooting down a fast fighter. Experiments were tried with Stingers that failed. Other weapons may have succeeded in the classified arena...unknown. But all these weapons are heavier and higher performing than a small quadrotor. <br /><br />Thousands of smaller quadrotors would be a ship space, personnel, and launch/recovery nightmare, would have limited endurance, range, and altitude of operation at best, little likelihood or reuse, and would carry few sensors/weapons while being a major airspace challenge.colsanbracjhttp://openid.aol.com/colsanbracjnoreply@blogger.com